—Consult your personal calendar and your bank statement. Despite what you tell others, your true priorities are reflected in how you actually spend your time and your money. Are you satisfied with your priorities? You can begin with the literal end in mind too. Imagine you’re on your death bed reflecting on what was important in your life, along with the purchases you made and didn’t make. With that perspective, would you change your current spending habits? Another trick is the 10-10-10 rule — in contemplating a purchase, ask yourself how it will affect your life in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years.
—Asking when enough is enough. Yeager suggests slaying your “enoughasaurus” by asking yourself when you have enough. At what point of accumulating more things can you be content? The question might strike you as profound or dopey, depending on whether you are at a place in life that allows it to resonate. The side benefit of spending more mindfully is that you’ll probably end up spending less and saving more, a good formula for weathering the next economic recession.
Gregory Karp, the author of “Living Rich by Spending Smart,” writes for the Chicago Tribune.
Distributed by MCT Information Services
